DETROIT -- They persevered through a tough, physical seven-game series against the playoff-tested Anaheim Ducks.

Now, the Detroit Red Wings will face a different kind of opponent in the Western Conference finals against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Anaheim chips the puck past the defense and tries to grind down teams on the cycle. Chicago attacks clubs with its speed through the neutral zone and young legs.

The Ducks relied heavily on one line for the bulk of their offense. The deeper Blackhawks have more scoring threats.

"I think you're going see a little bit different style," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "The line we've been facing in the previous series with (Ryan) Getzlaf, they're big guys good at hanging onto the puck down low and grinding it out and trying to tire us out.

"Whereas the young Blackhawks have great speed, and they're very skilled players. They're going to try to score off the rush."

The first playoff meeting between these Original Six rivals since the 1995 conference finals begins Sunday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena.

"Chicago plays an amazingly fast-paced game; their speed is very underrated," NBC analyst Pierre McGuire said. "They are brash, but in a good way. Chicago is a team that's trying to be Detroit. Detroit is seasoned and, obviously, knows how to win, but the gap is very, very close."

To say it's a clash between boys and men wouldn't be far-fetched. The playoff-savvy Red Wings, with an average age of 30.3 years, have reached the final four three consecutive years. The Blackhawks, with an average age of 25.5 years, hadn't won a playoff series since 1996 before ousting Calgary and Vancouver this season.

"Before the year, if you told us we'd be in this position, I don't know if I'd believe you," Blackhawks star center Patrick Kane said. "But now, it feels like we have a great team, a team that can do some damage."

Kane, 20, and Jonathan Toews, 21, are a dynamic young duo on the top line with Patrick Sharp and draw comparisons to Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

"They got Toews and Kane, who are similar to Hank and Pav when they were younger," Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios said. "They've had a great year, continued on right through the playoffs."

The Red Wings will match up Zetterberg, who may or may not play alongside Datsyuk, against Kane and Toews, and will try to have Lidstrom on the ice as often as possible against that line.

"We have a long way to go to get to that kind of superstar status," Kane said. "You look at guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk, what they can do with the puck, the way they control the game, it's definitely going to be a challenge for us to shut them down."

Right wing Martin Havlat, Chicago's leading scorer in the regular season and the playoffs, is similar in some ways to Detroit's Marian Hossa, his close friend and former Ottawa teammate. And Sharp has played well against the Red Wings.

"Havlat's got that great speed and he's good at protecting the puck," Lidstrom said. "Sharp is another skilled guy who has a knack for finding open areas and getting a quick shot off."

The Red Wings won the first four games of the season series -- two in shootouts, one in a rout (4-0) and one in the Winter Classic at Wrigley Field. Chicago swept the season-ending home-and-home series, games that meant nothing in the standings.

"I thought our rivalry started last season when they had the better of us," Detroit's Dan Cleary said of Chicago winning five of eight games.

"Their young players have been unbelievable, and they've got a championship goalie."

Nikolai Khabibulin won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004.

"(Duncan) Keith and (Brent) Seabrook, they're right up there among the top four or five (defense) pairs in the league," Cleary said. "They don't have a lot of experience, but they're playing loose and confident, and sometimes, that's pretty dangerous."

The Blackhawks insist their youth and inexperience won't be a detriment.

"We know that they are defending champs," Toews said. "I think, at the same time, there's an honor to play against a team like that and, hopefully, be the team that knocks them off.

"In a lot of ways, the pressure's on them, so we're just going to go out there and play and have fun and let loose. I think there's no reason to get overwhelmed by it."